[3] Of those who died inside the village, 15 died of fire-related causes; most of the rest were killed by edged or blunt weapons. [26], The force assembled at Chambly, just south of Montreal, numbered about 250. And this is as plausible an explanation of her survival as any.). 1600-1775 Publisher New York : [s.n.] [57], Some of the younger captives, however, were not ransomed, as they were adopted into the tribes. Le groupe fait son chemin à travers le lac Champlain, encore gelé et, un mois et demi après l'attaque, est de retour au fort Chambly. [15] The war involved all of the New England colonies, and the English destroyed or severely decimated and pacified most of its Indian nations. Church's instructions included the taking of prisoners to exchange for those taken at Deerfield, and specifically forbade him to attack the fortified capital, Port Royal. They have snowshoes, sleds to carry their supplies, and dogs to pull the sleds. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and genealogy. Most of these were intercolonial, even international, conflicts, in which New England joined as a very junior partner. When European colonists began in the 17th century to settle in the middle reaches of the Connecticut River valley (where it presently flows through the state of Massachusetts), the area was inhabited by the Algonquian-speaking Pocomtuc nation. …” (Mary Catlin was indeed “left,” the only one of her large family not killed or captured. Description: The tragic story of Sarah Allen, captured during the 1704 Deerfield massacre by Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville. Quinze ans après le massacre de Lachine perpétré par des Iroquois le 5 août 1689, il y a un événement du même genre, mais moins connu, qui se déroula dans le nord-est de l’Amérique : Le massacre ou le raid de Deerfield. The raiders consequently engaged in a common practice: they killed those captives when it was clear they were unable to keep up. The Indians had some disagreements among themselves concerning the disposition of the captives, which at times threatened to come to blows. [65][66], John Williams wrote a captivity narrative, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion, about his experience, which was published in 1707. The year is 1704, the season winter, the context another European war with a “colonial” dimension. [43] The raiders intended to take them to Canada, a 300-mile (480 km) journey, in the middle of winter. In some cases there are direct—even affectionate—contacts between the parties themselves. (The threat was not an empty one — it was known to have happened on other raids. The snow has piled hugely here; the drifts make walkways to the top of the fence. Digital Collections. Some find opportunities to escape by jumping from windows or roof lines. Wôbanaki Homelands, circa 1600 This map shows part of the territory of the original Wôbanaki homelands, in present-day Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, northern Massachusetts, parts of southern Canada and the Maritimes. [23] In August of that year, the local militia commander called out the militia after he received intelligence of "a party of French & Indians from Canada" who were "expected every hour to make some attaque on ye towns upon Connecticut River". Losses in any single encounter might be only a few, but they did add up. Peaceful little villages. Still convalescent following a recent pregnancy, she nearly drowns in a river crossing, after which, according to John Williams, “the cruel and bloodthirsty savage who took her, slew her with his hatchet at one stroke.” In the succeeding days another seventeen of the captives will be similarly “dispatched.”, Later in the journey the French and the Indians separate. She acknowledges the claims of her blood, but other, stronger claims draw her back to Canada. A young woman wounded in the Stebbins house. Reverend Williams' house was among the first to be raided; Williams' life was spared when his gunshot misfired, and he was taken prisoner. [10] In the early 1660s, the Pocumtuc were shattered as a nation due to conflict with the aggressive Mohawk, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were located in eastern New York and raided into New England. Another fifteen or so of her fellow captives will make a similar choice, and still others stay on with the French Canadians. Some, like John Williams, are ransomed “out of the hands of Indians” by French officials; others are taken to Indian “forts” and encampments throughout the St. Lawrence River Valley. Conditions are crowded and uncomfortable, to say the least, but few doubt the need for special measures. However, the raid was a clear victory for the French coalition that aimed to take captives and unsettle English colonial frontier society. Conflict increased with the French and their Native American allies. A History of Deerfield, Massachusetts: the times when the people by whom it was settled, unsettled and resettled: by Sheldon, George, 1818-1916. During his childhood the borderland along the Connecticut valley was the theatre of Indian forays and massacres. One page (300 x 195mm), bifolium. On Sunday March 5, five days after the raid, the captors and their captives reached what is now Rockingham, Vermont. Here they will strike off into the woods to the south, leaving dogs and sleds for their return. She will become the last surviving member of the entire “massacre” cohort. The area once had a large Indian population, but King Philip's War (1675-1678) drove many of the natives from the area. The raid on Deerfield occurred during Queen Ann's War on February 29, 1704, when joint French and Native American forces attacked the English settlement at Deerfield, Massachusetts, just before dawn, razing the town and killing fifty-six colonists. The party consisted of 200 Frenchmen and 142 Indians. -- History Colonial period, ca. Autograph letter signed, to his brother Jaspeth Chapin in Springfield, Mendon, 8 April 1704. All of them exacted a cost, in time, in money, in worry—and in blood. They “judge it impossible to travel [except] … to uttermost disadvantage.” Under the circumstances they could hardly hope “to offend the enemy or rescue our captives, which was the end we aimed at in all.” And so they “desist” once again. [69] The last known survivor of the raid was ironically Williams daughter Eunice Kanenstenhawi Williams, also known as Marguerite Kanenstenhawi Arosen, (17 September 1696 Deerfield, Massachusetts-26 November 1785 Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada), Deerfield holds a "special place in American history". The legend continues that this was a "historical fact known to almost all school children". The captives accompanied their captors to their respective villages. [27] The 48 ethnic Frenchmen, were made up of Canadien militia and recruits from the troupes de la marine, including four of Hertel de Rouville's brothers. The English have counterattacked against half a dozen Abenaki Indian villages. And now, in Montreal, the French governor is secretly planning a new thrust “over the ice” toward “a little village of about forty households,” a place misnamed in the French records “Guerrefille.” (An ironic twist just there: Deerfield becomes “War-girl.”), Deerfield is not unready. Two of his children and a servant were slain; the rest of his family and his other servant were also taken prisoner. The second was the detachment of some troops for operations in Maine; critically, these forces included Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, who was intended to lead the raid on Deerfield. [38] Their arrival prompted the remaining raiders to flee; some abandoned their weapons and other supplies in the rush. This page was last edited on 14 January 2021, at 15:02. On the evening of February 28, the town goes to sleep in the usual way. How-To Tutorials; Suggestions; Machine Translation Editions; Noahs Archive Project; About Us. [75] Although popularly remembered as a tale of the triumph of rugged Protestant male individualism, the raid is better understood not along the lines of Turner's thesis, but as an account of the strong factors of community life and cross-cultural interaction in border communities. A young couple and their infant son whose “small house” was so small that the snow had covered it completely. [7] A majority of the captives taken were women and children, as the French and Indian captors considered them more likely than adult males to successfully assimilate into native communities and a new life in French Canada. It was pretty easy to find information about the massacre, there are a lot of sites that cover individual family's that were affected. They did not do so at Deerfield. Then a stunning intervention: A band of Englishmen arrives from the villages below (where an orange glow on the horizon “gave notice … before we had news from the distressed people” themselves). To license content, please contact licenses [at] americanheritage.com. Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States.Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,125 as of the 2010 census. Almost immediately their relatives and friends in New England begin efforts to secure their release. Home; Books; Search; Support. Another “sorrowful” task for the survivors. [4][37], The raiders also suffered losses, although reports vary. The fires from the burning houses had been spotted, and "thirty men from Hadley and Hatfield" rushed to Deerfield. The Raid on Deerfield was a French and Indian attack that took place in Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704 during Queen Anne’s War. [45], In the first few days several of the captives escaped. Across the river to the west the attackers are making their final preparations: loading weapons, putting on war paint, reviewing plans. Nine girls remained as opposed to only five boys. Supposedly friendly Indians who were recognized as Pocumtuc were recorded as passing through the area. In the Old Albany Cemetery contains the grave of the 56 killed in the 1704 Leap Day Massacre in Deerfield. [44] Only 89 of the captives survived the ordeal. [48] A historical marker was placed near the site in 1912. Raid: 56 killed, 112 captured[3][4]Villagers: 44 killed (10 men, 9 women, 25 children), 109 captured[5]. The attackers separate into smaller parties and “immediately set upon breaking open doors and windows.”. DEERFIELD MASSACRE – CHAPIN, Josiah. [54], Deerfield and other communities collected funds to ransom the captives. There is extreme privation and suffering on both sides. 112 Deerfield men, women, and children were captured and taken on a 300-mile forced march to Canada in harsh winter conditions. The raid has been immortalized as a part of the early American frontier story, principally due to the published account by a prominent captive, the Rev. More than 100 captives were taken, and about 40 percent of the village houses were destroyed. -- History, Deerfield (Mass.) Time to look after their wounded and count their dead. Le 29 février 1704, à l’âge de 12 ans, elle est enlevée par des militaires français à Deerfield, au Massachusetts. Hertel de Rouville instructed Reverend Williams to inform the others that recaptured escapees would be tortured; there were no further escapes. In addition to the villagers, this included the 20 outside militia and 3 French traders. Support with a donation>>. There is more debate on whether to counterattack. Historians Haefeli and Sweeney theorize that the failure to launch a coordinated assault was caused by the wide diversity within the attacking force. In fact, efforts to bring them back will continue for decades. The captives asked for and were given permission to hold a worship service that Sunday, near the mouth of a river that was later named the Williams River in honor of that service. Read more >>, The magazine was forced to suspend print publication in 2013, but a group of volunteers saved the archives and relaunched it in digital form in 2017. Indeed, many families are living inside the stockade. When John Williams and his family are finally taken outside, they see “many of the houses … in flames”; later, in recalling the moment, he asks, “Who can tell what sorrows pierced our souls?”. Those who stayed were not compelled by force, but rather by newly formed religious ties and family bonds. In others there is a frantic attempt to hide. They stop just long enough to pick up “fifteen of Deerfield men.” And this combined force proceeds to the stockade, to deliver a surprise of its own: “when we entered at one gate, the enemy fled out the other.” Now comes a flat-out chase—pell-mell across the meadow—the erstwhile attackers put to rout. For 70 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture. Sa population était de 4 750 habitants en 2000. Eventually some fifty-three will be returned home, with John Williams as one of the last among them. Frontier settlements took actions to fortify their towns and prepare for war. From this vantage point, they observed the villagers as they prepared for the night. In the summer of 1704, New Englanders under the leadership of Benjamin Church raided Acadian villages at Pentagouet (present-day Castine, Maine), Passamaquoddy Bay (present-day St. Stephen, New Brunswick), Grand Pré, Pisiquid, and Beaubassin (all in present-day Nova Scotia). Publié le 30 mai 2016 par Marie-Helene. The first was a rumor that English warships were on the Saint Lawrence River, and the French sent a significant Indian force to Quebec for its defense. However, one household—that of the militia leader, Sgt. Someone said to her, ‘How can you do that for your enemy?’ She replied, ‘If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him water to drink.’ The Frenchman was taken and carried away, and the captives marched off. 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